Surrender to police for Valentine's Day

Updated 10:39 pm, Friday, February 14, 2014

“The last thing we want to do is to embarrass someone” at work or in front of family to make warrant arrests, Chief William McManus said.

“The last thing we want to do is to embarrass someone” at work or in front of family to make warrant arrests, Chief William McManus said.

Photo: Courtesy Of The San Antonio Police Department

Surrender to police for Valentine's Day

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SAN ANTONIO — San Antonio officials had a special Valentine's Day message for people with outstanding warrants: Deal with them now or we'll be picking you up in a couple of weeks.

San Antonio Police Chief William McManus and Municipal Court Clerk Frederick P. Garcia Jr. announced the Great Texas Warrant Round Up on Friday, the first day of a grace period for people to pay their fines.

“The last thing we want to do is to embarrass someone at their work or arrest someone in front of their family members or children,” McManus said. “That's why we encourage everyone to come down here to municipal court and pay their warrants.”

The enforcement phase of the roundup will run March 3-7, Garcia said. San Antonio is one of 300 cities participating in the statewide effort. Neighboring cities including Live Oak, Selma, Kirby and Balcones Heights are also participating.

During the roundup, officers will come to the homes and businesses of people with an outstanding Class C warrant and arrest them. Class C warrants mainly comprise traffic offenses such as speeding or driving without insurance, and city code violations such as zoning complaints and domestic disturbances.

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There are ways to avoid being caught in the sweep.

People with outstanding warrants can visit sanantonio.gov/ecommerce/court and enter their name, ticket number or driver's license number to pay their fines online.

Alternatively, people can appear in court at 401 S. Frio St. between 8 a.m. and 5 p.m. Monday through Friday, or from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. Feb. 22. People who want to set up payment plans must come to court between 9 a.m. and 3 p.m.

During the grace period, which ends Feb. 28, parking will be free at the municipal courthouse, Garcia said.

If you are unsure whether you have a warrant, call the court at 210-207-2023 or 210-207-2025. Volunteers will also be making courtesy phone calls to remind people they have warrants, Garcia said.

Cash, major credit cards, checks and money orders are all acceptable forms of payment, Garcia said. Only the person charged can come pay the fine, he said.

“You will not be arrested here if you come in to pay your fine,” Garcia said.

More than 300,000 warrants in San Antonio need to be cleared, Garcia said. San Antonio police will also arrest people who live elsewhere in Bexar County if they are wanted on a city warrant, Garcia said.

Last year, San Antonio cleared more than 14,000 warrants during the roundup.